okay northern hunters,
i live in north texas (dfw area) and we finally got a good cold front (below freezing).
so i went to the rifle range. i've never shot my muzzleloader below freezing before. i'm going to iowa this christmas to hunt with my muzzleloader, way below freezing there.

powder worked fine, bullets were just as accurate as in warm weather.

the problem i had was running a cleaning (dry) patch between shots. twice i had to have someone hold my rifle so i could pull out the rod and patch (i swab between every shot)!
i also noticed plastic fouling from the base of my powerbelts. that is not supposed to happen with powerbelts.

i also had difficulty seating my caps. they just seemed tight and sometimes i had to pull the trigger twice before they would go off.

i use American Pioneer Powder. it burns cleaner, yet i still had this difficulty. i also noticed more fouling than usual.

does a muzzleloader barrel shrink in below freezing weather? is this typical?
not concerned with my accuracy, just wondering about the increased difficulty.

thanks for any advice,

hookset